this morning on world news now, drivers are seeing red reeling from the huge run up in gas prices. analysts are out with new predictions on where prices are heading now. it's monday, october 8th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." good monday morning. happy columbus day, everybody. i am rob nelson. >> as can you see, we did not get the day off. i am paula ferris. we are going to get to the pain at the pump in a moment. ahead, two wedding parties and one nasty brawl that turned deadly and all caught on tape, and it took place on one of the

happiest days of your life. >> the video is scary how the situation deteriorated. and chaos at the track. turning nascar into bumper cars at 200 miles per hour. hard to believe that situation did not end worse. i don't know how they survive those crashes, i really don't. >> one of the drivers said he never experienced something like that. >> unbelievable. on the last lap, of course. week five of the nfl, we will have a rundown and update on how our picks and yours did, as well as week five is not completely in the books. >> you got your beads? >> just a shout out to the new longer undefeated new orleans saints, and also drew brees for shattering the record for consecutive games throwing a td at 48, and number one, and needed it.

>> broke the record. >> yeah, black and gold. good night, fellows. keep it going. >> winning four. >> get over it. and california drivers forced to shell out $5 a gallon and sometimes even more. >> gas prices are up from coast-to-coast but they have hit an all-time high in california. the governor there is scrambling to increase supply but prices are expected to go up more before they finally come down. abc's brandy has the story. >> reporter: california drivers are beyond frustrated. >> i did not get 10 gallons and it's $42. >> as they face a record-breaking gas prices. perhaps prompting thieves who electronically disabled a meter in roseville california and stole nearly 1,000 gallons. >> i don't know. at least those people should go to jail.

>> reporter: the spike is thanks to the perfect storm of problems while one plant in richmond was shut down because of a fire, and another plant last week because of problems, and a pipeline also became contaminated and it happened as california prepares to switch from scarce summer grade to winter grade fuel. older refineries are shutting down. >> it's here in california and up in the new england states where there are atphaupl hraez going on and that's why prices are so high. >> natalie the areas in red are being hit hardest. gas prices in new york and connecticut are also still well above $4 a gallon as is the case in the northwest. drivers here in burbank are paying up to 5.89 a gallon, and prices could go up another 20 cents before coming down next week. nbc news, los angeles >> hopefully relief comes soon. that's ridiculously high prices. >> you are not allowed to buy

the winter blend until october, but the governor is trying to get the ball rolling sooner. the winder blend costs less but people complain that you don't get as good fuel economy, so if you get 25 miles to the gallon now you can get 22ish. >> and then they are asking the federal trade commission to investigate whether the gas prices are being manipulated in the fallout, too. so meningitis outbreak. 27 people became sick, and the total number of cases are brought to 91, and seven people have died. >> reporter: millions of americans get the steroid shots for back pain every year and today the fears of tainted injections. >> you are scared to -- you

don't know what to do now. >> so hospitals like this one in tennessee are tracking down hundreds who may be at risk. >> you have several symptoms listed on here. >> the cdc opened their the operation center to deal with the outbreak. more than 17,000 vials of the drug were shipped and several contaminated with the fungus that goes up to the brain and causes meningitis, and the symptoms look like a stroke. >> six days later you are fighting for your life. >> health officials tracked the problem to the center in massachusetts which has closed down operations. there are more than 7500 compounding pharmacies in the country and they make 1% to 3% of all prestriction drugs and they could be lifesavers. custom mixing their mixes for patients with special leads, but operate with little federal oversight. >> it has happened before.

the compounding pharmacies are not under the rigorous regular supervision of the food and drug administration. >> now, patients in pain worried about what to do next. >> i am not just concerned for me. i am concerned for many. and now a return to the campaign trail with 29 days left to go in the the election. mitt romney delivers a major foreign policy speech in virginia today after spending the weekend drawing huge crowds in florida, and president obama is in california where last night he poked fun at his lack luster debate performance last week. he gave a nod to the performance at a star-studded event included stevie wonder and katy perry. >> they perform flawlessly night after night. i can't always say the same. >> the president is expected to raise more than $9 million during his two-day swing through california.

>> and mitt romney has a big day. expected to elaborate a little more on his foreign policy, and he will speak to fill in more details as to that plan that he laid out a couple weeks ago, but that's going to happen around 11:00 eastern. >> and only 29 days left to go. but you have to wonder, too, with the 67 million people watching that debate, the race has gotten fighter and it's a fight to the finish. two weeks ago it was looking bad and bleak for romney and it is amazing how the wind has changed and romney has the wind at his back, and obama is scraping to get back into this thing, and the numbers since wednesday night have gotten tighter in thely and in the swing states as well. >> we need to play something for the debate -- >> drinking game? >> no, an eating game. the vice presidential debate

takes place on thursday night, and marthas will be moderating it. a fairytale wedding day turned into an ugly nightmare for two brides in philadelphia. the alcohol-fueled fight erupted between two wedding parties at a hotel bar. police had to be called in to break it up. three people arrested and one man died of a heart attack and he turned out to be the uncle of one of the brides. new clues in the search for a missing colorado girl. they found her backpack about six miles from where she was last seen friday. the backpack contained a water bottle with jessica's name on it. she's in the middle of a custody battle between her father in missouri and her mother in colorado. >> you hope there is no link, but we have seen this kind of story before.

a incredible finish at the nascar race. all of it happened on the final lap, in fact. tony stewart making the move to keep the lead but he touched off a 25-car pileup, and stewart's car went airborne and other drivers including dale earnhardt junior were steamed. >> nobody is sensible enough to realize how ridiculous that was. is that ridiculous that all those cars got torn up and everybody is hoe hupl, no big deal, but it's not already. >> the drivers were all okay, incredibly so and tony stewart took the blame for the crash. and the daytona 500 winner ended up winning at tal tkaeuga. wow. the eastern part of the country, bugs have been over ran by stink bugs. if you squash them, they really

do stink if you crush them. and they eat pretty much everything in sight. >> oh, man, imagine that. >> i would rather have stink bugs. >> you had cockroaches in your house? >> a lot of them. >> something you are not telling us? >> no. it's new york. here is a look at your weather. the coldest part of the season, nearly two dozen states, and showers and thunderstorms from florida up through d.c., and showers up towards michigan, and -- what are you saying about my house? >> nothing. we need raid on the set. 60s from texas to minnesota, and 95 in phoenix, and 75 in sacramento. a bit of football history last night in new orleans, and this one is all yours, rob. finally, you got it off. >> i am so taoeufired of your t talk. drew brees, a 40-yard td pass

against san diego last night, and with that, boom, with that, he breaks juny kwraoupb tphaoeusz record of 47 straight games with a touchdown pass.

welcome back, everybody. week five in the nfl is almost in the books and here to talk about it as usual is our monday morning quarterback, it's mr. page of new york. i did not get the memorandum yo it's st. patty's day, by the way. >> well, it's the -- >> wrong sport. >> you have to pay owe phaupblg with the green. i can't make owe phaupblg to the jets because they are terrible. >> they will probably get their haoeupbees kicked tonight against houston. >> yeah. >> if you were to put money on the colts and the packers, and it was a emotional game because their coach was just diagnosed with cancer. would you have bet they would

have beat the packers? >> no, the packers had a number of injuries within this game and a number of key positions. too numerous to try and count right now, but still andrew luck was the story today. we like to say it, the coming of age of andrew luck today, and we saw it before our own eyes. and a season where robert griffin iii, and luck so special, and that old familiar target for peyton manning and becoming the familiar target for andrew luck. and a 50-plus field goal, and how about two wins for the colts and two wins for the packers after week five, amazing. >> and andrew luck, a rookie record with passing. the steelers, had they not kicked the late field goal, they would have been 1-3 on the season. >> and the eagles, more

turnovers for michael vick. his team about to go into the end zone, and the steelers get it back, and the eagles looked like they dominated the first half of the game and still the steelers able to make plays down the stretch with been roethlisberger, and they get james harrison came back and troy polamalu is back, and i am not a believer in the eagles, and i picked them to win in the east, and still not a believer in them, and i will still take the giants who won, by the way. >> you believe in the whalers -- i can't stop staring at the shirt. >> you are killing me. >> falcons and redskins, they were 5-0 in franchise history, and a big win for them against rg3. >> somebody has to tell rg3, get out of bounds, go feet first,

and he had to learn it the hard way. get rid of the football. and rg3, sometimes trying to make too many plays with his legs, and he will find out guys in this league much faster and bigger in this league. he is far too valuable for that team to get hurt and be out of a game like that. >> you have to give matt ryan a whole lot of credit. 345 yards passing today. are you ready to say, though, texans the only other undefeated team. are you ready to say the falcons are the best team right now? >> no, the 49ers ran rough -- what they did today to buffalo out in san francisco, and that's too embarrassing losses for the bills this season. phenomenal effort by the 49ers. i will go houston and the 49ers, if you want to talk nfc and afc for the best teams.

>> check out jason's -- there's a crusty hotdog for you. there you go. >> i don't want to eat after you. here. >> i can't fit it all.

time in the latest news right now. the nfl picks competition. and we are joined here as we always are, by the kpheurb. >> whatever. we will get to the standings, but first, jack, remind us of the features games. no more notre dame talk, okay? >> future games. jason touched on some of them. the falcons and the redskins and the eagles and the steelers, and

miami at cincinnati and seattle at a rather disappointing carolina. >> for the week it was paula and the "w," and football nation at 3-1. well done this week. and the commissioner not as well -- congratulations to you as well. >> it's me and the nation. we are together. a couple. you and i, the viewers, and we have a game behind us and the kau pheurb who continues to bring up the rear. >> it's early, man. we have time. >> speaking of not going well, only one team has achieved a 0-5 start to the season. >> the browns. >> the cleveland football browns. roll the tape. they actually took the lead against the super bowl champion giants. they were up 14-0, and somehow they succeeded in losing 41-27. >> ouch.

>> because you are the browns. >> look out! >> by the way, nice digs today. >> you like that? i dressed up for the crowd. i dressed up. >> and he is very happy this morning. [ male announcer ] we got a mom and the family car to prove that febreze car vent clips could eliminate the odor. [ woman ] take a deep breath, tell me what you smell. something fresh. a clean house. [ woman ] take your blindfolds off. oh!! hahahaha!!! [ male announcer ] febreze car. eliminates odors, so you can breathe happy. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses,

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oh, and a sign of the times, penmanship, nobody knows how to write any more and nobody sends cards and it's all digital, and hallmark is shutting down a plant that makes one-third of the greeting cards. over the past decade the number of greeting cards dropped from 6 billion to 5 billion annually, and 24% drop between 2002 and 2010. i guess people do e-cards a lot, which i am not a huge fan of. this is from my husband from 2003, and look at it, it's a

hallmark card. i am old school. i keep all the cards from my parents, and it's meaningful, and it's in a little tub. that's where this is going. you want to read it? kidding. >> remember that one time -- >> at band camp? >> i know the facebook story, and now the three classmates at yale had a idea one night that would create a website to decipher rap songs, and put them into what they mean, like what a scholar would break down a classic novel, and it was started three years ago and they just got a $15 million investment from a tech investment firm. the name of the sight is rap genius, and it had a major investment, and it was three dudes from yale and now it's blowing up financially in terms of page hits. whatever idea you have out there, go for it and you never know what it can lead to and you

have the rap songs deciphered for it in case you don't understand the language the rap stars are using. >> you can't explain all of it? >> if you go to that site you can. there you go. you watched "price is right" over the years? >> uh-huh. >> what has been missing? >> you me decor? >> no, people. him! that is rob wilson. not rob nelson. but he has been closen to be the first male model on the "price is right." he is going to do a week-long stint with the ladies on the week of october 15th. >> all things evolve in change. but sometimes students do not evolve in change because apparently there's a student at charlotte's independence high school in north carolina that has been displaciplined for

this morning, treatments to help causing sickness and death. >> a nationwide outbreak of meningitis blamed on medicines designed to ease pain, and products are being pulled from pharmacy shelves. it's monday, october 8th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> good monday morning, everybody. happy columbus day for you folks watching us on what should be a three-day weekend for most. not for us. >> news never sleeps. >> no, we don't. >> we're going to have the latest on the outbreak in just a

moment and on the recalls that now affect products from complex prescriptions to even simple vitamins. and also, a look at some other stories we are following this half hour as well. we have details on the desperate search for a little girl that has been missing for three days. this morning, new clues and a trail that could give investigators to look. they found evidence now. >> her mother working the night shift of all things, too. the new star of the presidential campaign, big bird in the spotlight, and becoming a symbol of bigger issues and had the fictional character and how he is gaff tphaoeuzing both sides. >> and "snl" had fun with big bird and they delivered as expected. a well-known daredevil will spend the day today being

electrified in the middle of manhattan. we will hear from david blaine on how he intends on surviving the death-defying display. it's one of those things where you touch the edge of the crystal ball and the zap comes towards your finger and he is the human version of that. >> the people coming in online can control the intensity -- >> that's a big gamble out there. first, new details on the growing outbreak on a rare form of meningitis linked to steroids. >> 27 people have gotten sick over the last two days and that brings the total case of 91, and seven people died so far with the latest developments. >> reporter: the pharmacy at the center of the meningitis outbreak announced a voluntary recall of every product it makes and saying this action is being taken out of an abundance of

caution due to the risk of contamination. the amount of patients jumping from 64 to 91 cases with seven confirmed deaths. the outbreak began with a contaminated shipment of drugs from the new england compound center. that drug was contaminated with a fungus that can go from the spinal fluid up to the brain causing a rare form of meningitis. the company is one of thousands of compound pharmacies that mix their own medicine but don't have to meet fda safety standards for manufacturing drugs, the idea to let some tailor make drugs for patients that need a special blend, like those that have allergies. that's not the first problem linked to these pharmacies. nine patients died in alabama after a solution was made with bacteria. the city has been hijacked by those now making cheap copies of safer drugs.

>> these individuals are no different than counterfeiters. instead of manufacturing a fake roleex, they are manufacturing fake drugs. >> and one family is praying she will pull through. >> it's just hard to see your mother. >> reporter: that recall affects more than 1,000 products, everything from drugs to simple vitamins but the company is saying there's no reason to think the other products are contaminated. >> your heart has to go out to the families, and watching his mother, elderly, battling that. and you may be impacted by this, head age, fever, tphaurba, and discomfort from bright lights, and those that have been impacted are suffering strokes on top of that, so it's very serious. >> this strain is very rare, and it's different than the typical strains than men kwraoupb

skwraoeutious, but it's not contagious. >> yeah. can't be spread from person to person, but so far 32 cases in tennessee, and 20 in michigan, and then we also have 18 in virginia as well. so hopefully the numbers will come down this week, but we saw a big spike over the weekend. >> turning to politics this weekend, your voice and vote and with 29 days until the election, welcome news for the romney campaign. a new gallop poll is showing a tighter race after the first debate last week, and the president is now up by just three points after being up by six points at his peak. speaking of the president, he is poking fun at his sluggish debate performance last week. he took the stage at a gal kwru event last night, and following acts included bon jovi and katy per perry, and the president continues his california campaign swing later today. meanwhile, mitt romney is

spending the day in virginia where he is set to deliver a major foreign policy speech. he drew some of the largest crowds of his campaign in florida. this week, it's the vice presidential campaign face-off. the vice presidential debate takes phraeugs thursday night and our team will be live from the debate, and our own martha from abc will be moderating. >> the pressure has to be on biden to compensate for those -- the lack of performance from the president in last week's debate. this will really be paul ryan's first big debate, and it's kind of like the old guard against the new tkpwaurld. >> and the pressure is neutral,

and paul ryan has to feel pressure that he needs to come out of the gates swinging and he is seen just as ready from the white house. it should be interesting with those two. >> expect him to disseminate walkiness that everybody is talking about. gas prices hitting a national average of $3.81 a gallon, but drivers in california are feeling the pinch like never before. prices across the state soared to a record $4.65 a gallon, and you see some higher than that and a lot of it being blamed on a series of problems including a refinery power outage. and governor jerry brown took steps, but it could take days for prices to level off. and hugo chavez received 54% of the votes, leading supporters

to celebrate in the streets. some venezuelans waited in line for hours, and the celebration was peaceful. and police in colorado say a backpack found in the town of superior is likely linked to a 10-year-old girl that has been missing since friday. jessica ridgeway was last seen when she walked to a park, and the girl was caught in a custody battle between her mother and father who lives in missouri. police are not ruling anybody out as a suspect. >> the odds are, if you look at the number of children that disappear in the united states, they tend to be well over 90% of the time at the hands of a parent or a relative. >> the backpack apparently contained a water bottle with the child's name written on it. it was a wild scene to closeout sunday's big nascar

race at talladega. tony stewart made his move and trying to protect his lead and it ended up triggering that. it amounted to a 25-car pileup. stewa stewart's car went flying and he ended up taking the blame, and the crash was his fault. >> the outside lanes were going by us and we got to turn three and the wreck ensued. so hopefully tony is all right and everybody that got banged up there, so it's good to come out here unscathed and have a car in one piece. >> appears lot of collateral damage. tony stewart and the other drivers were okay. daytona 500 winner won the race under caution. and it was called bumper cars at 200 miles per hour. i don't want to be involved in that? >> can you imagine? >> no.

chocolate vanilla swirl ice cream is on its way to the space station. besides the ice cream, it's delivering 1,000 pounds of sorted cargo. the unmanned rocket roered into the night sky right on time. >> 3, 2, 1, and liftoff. liftoff of the spacex falcon rockets. >> the rocket will spend close to three weeks at the space station before being released and parachuting into the pacific at the end of the month. the most extreme skydiver on the planet is gearing up to break the sound barrier and the world record for the highest free fall, all set to take place tomorrow morning when australian daredevil felix bomb guarder plans to ascend 120,000 feet in

a huge hillyam balloon, and he will be assisted by a parachute and special space suit. he is expected to reach speeds of 700 miles an hour. >> how does his heart not explode? why would anybody want to do that? that's a whole other discussion. now to a case of treasure to trash, back to treasure again thanks to an honest businessman. a massachusetts woman gave a hope chest to a junkyard saying she didn't want anything that was in it. after they carted the chest away they found a envelope inside with savings bonds, in today's worth, over $100,000. they gave it back. >> today's interest value, it's

$113,954. that would definitely change your life. >> that is life changing. the bonds belonged to the woman's mom that passed away a few months ago. the junkyard owner is working on a pilot show called trash to cash. one man's quest to harvest the electricity for 72 straight hours. plus, it may have been the most memorable moment of the first presidential debate. mitt romney's threat to fire big bird. that's all coming up on "world news now." septic disasters are disgusting and costly, but avoidable.

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we touched on the presidential race earlier but maybe the biggest political news came on "saturday night live." >> big bird got his chance to go rogue. and we have the details. >> reporter: big bird took the high road on "saturday night liv live". >> before we go, do you have a

political statement you would like to make? >> no, i don't want to ruffle any feathers. >> but feathers were ruffled. >> i will stop the subsidy to pbs. i like big bird. i like you, too. >> somebody is finally getting tough on big bird. >> keeping the fight alive over government spending. so was it a mistake targeting america's favorite yellow bird? >> it was not a target. it was pointing to one example. big bird is pretty successful. >> the show relies on less than 0.1% of federal dollars. >> welcome to the middle class, big bird. despite or because of it, big bird has helped the romney campaign raise money. >> i got a million tweets.

>> so you are on twitter? >> no, i'm a bird. tweet something how we talk! >> reporter: what is also talking are the sales here at sullivan's toy store here in washington, d.c., they say they have sold more big bird items than they have in the past, proving how profitable one yellow bird can be. >> incredible. besides pbs being this much of the budget and they did a poll that showed 70% of the country showed opposing de funding. poor big bird in the crosshairs of the debate. but we lover him in the overnight. >> we do. what is he doing? looking over your shoulder? >> no. >> we should bring him on the show?

>> everybody else has done it. and a well-known daredevil. >> how he plans to survive the next three days the next three days with electricity.

how about that david blaine. >> his current stunt ends tonight which means he will be getting zapped throughout the day. we spoke to him as he was feeling the heat. >> reporter: it's a modern day twist on the movie "frankenstein," although this jolt has real consequences. illusionists is being electrified for 72 hours. >> the volts were really cool. >> to get a better idea of what it's like inside the lightning storm i get closer than anybody else. we head up in the elevator gauge

protecting us from the volts and just moments later, eye to eye with the stuntman himself. >> some people might call you crazy. why are you doing? he says he always had a fascination with electricity and becoming a human plasma ball, and this is not the first time he has pushed the limits of a human body. he has hung upside down for more than two days over new york state park, and submerged himself under water for a week. unlike many of his previous stunts this was designed to be interactive, and some are able to control the voltage and zap blaine with the push of a button. he tells me sometimes he feels a slight tingle, but the protective suit is working. if all goes according to plan, he will come down after accomplished a bizarre but

amazing feat. >> electrifying story. >> good luck, dude. and me discovering novolog mix 70/30 flexpen. flexpen is pre-filled with your pre-mix insulin. dial the exact dose. inject by pushing a button. no vials, syringes or coolers to carry. flexpen is insulin delivery my way. novolog mix 70/30 is an insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. do not inject if you do not plan to eat within 15 minutes to avoid low blood sugar. tell your healthcare provider about all medicines you take and all of your medical conditions, including if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. most common side effects include reactions at the injection site, weight gain, swelling of your hands and feet, and vision changes. other serious side effects include low blood sugar and low potassium in your blood. get medical help right away if you experience serious allergic reactions, body rash, trouble with breathing,

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finally this half hour, part of the u.s. hostage crisis in iran that you might not be familiar with, and that's the subject of ben affleck's new film. >> and there are already great expectations for it including the upcoming award season, it could do well. >> the only way out of the city is this. >> he plays the specialist who comes up with a plan to get six americans out of iran and safely back on u.s. soil as the u.s. embassy in tehran was being

stormed they escaped and found refuge at the home of the canadian ambassador. the plan to save lives involves a crew making a fake film. ben affleck is the star. >> i feel this is the movie -- i never said this before. this is the best movie that i have every been involved with. i am enormously proud of it. >> if brian called me and said brian, i have -- i go, yes, i will do it. >> the experience was that good? >> it really was. >> it's a science fantasy adventure. >> do we get the option? >> why do we need the option? >> >> when you have 100 people telling you it's the best movie you have seen in years, you start to think maybe it will be fairly successful. >> you teach somebody to be a director in a day? >> you can teach a monkey to be a director in a day.

>> it's a great audience, the reactions you get, it's just terrific. >> i have not seen this proud since "goodwill hunting." >> all-star cast. look at that. >> it's coming out this weekend. look forward to seeing that. nice to see a passion when somebody is involved that deeply, directing in it and acting in it. >> invested. >> very invested. a long way since "aur ma tkpw tkpweden." remember that? >> oh, yeah. you can find us on twitter, where? >> at abc --

>> that's what.

this morning, the candidates kick off a fresh week of candidates showing a new poll of a much tighter chase. >> and the running mates getting ready for their big face-off three days away. it's monday, october 8th. from abc news, this is "world news now." >> sit friday yet? >> wishful thinking. not even close. >> i am rob nelson. 29 days and counting now. we'll get the latest from the campaign trail including a star-studded obama event in just a moment. also coming up this morning, the nationwide men kwraoupb skwraoeutious outbreak spreads as the number of cases rises and

more people affected and more people died in all this and we will have the new toll from the contaminated injections. so what happened when jon stewart and bill o'reilly duked it out in their big debate? kind of doing what other candidates were not able to do during the real debate. >> clash of the tightens there. and ben affleck's biggest hit. he hits a car and leaves a note, and how nice, we'll tell you what he wrote. when you have that kind of money, here's my info. >> you can take out my minivan anytime you want, ben. >> you are a fan, huh? >> yeah, but i want to get the upgrade. >> courtesy of ben? and obama and romney on

opposite sides of the country. this morning a. new gallop poll showing a tighter race after the debate. the president is up by just three points after being up by six points at his peak. and we have the latest from the campaign trail. >> reporter: california's safely in obama's corner but he is not there looking for votes, and he is there raising campaign cash. a lot of it. >> are you fired up. >> reporter: the stars came out. george clooney, and stevie wonder, and john bon jovi and katy perry all there. >> everything we fought for in 2008 is here on the line here in 2012, and i need your help to finish what we started. >> reporter: it will be a lucrative california swing, over two days the obama campaign is expected to raise of minimum of $9.5 million.

no surprise the president is shattering funding records. his re-election total is at 835 million. romney raised $548 million so far. romney spent a second consecutive day asking for votes in florida. the republican contender is riding the momentum from last week's debate. he is drawing big crowds from the campaign. >> you will have a chance to hear his answers or his non-answers. of course, days later we are hearing his excuses, and next january we will be watching him leave the white house for the last time. >> reporter: this week it's the vice presidential candidates turn to debate. and biden is in delaware,

and in intense preparation with the obama campaign feeling new pressure after the president's widely panned performance in denver, and ryan campaigning in ohio and michigan today, and we will carry the debate live here. the team will be at the debate as well, and martha will be moderating. it begins 9:00 p.m. eastern, and they will discuss foreign and domestic policy, 9:00 to 10:30 eastern time in kentucky. >> she is a good reporter feeling in a moderator pressure to do better than jim layer, and i am sure -- >> it would be difficult to not perform better. >> the president had a lack luster night, and you turn around and get the jobs report and unemployment fell and that was a boost, and the psychological threshold of it

being alow 8%, which is where it was when he took office. and a wild ten days in the race. >> and joe biden getting advice from david axelrod, the strategic adviser for obama, to alleviate some of the same costly mistakes. >> paul ryan must be a little nervous for the first national debate. he's going up against a 40-year vet. the race in connecticut is close. it has been particularly nasty. their debate is no different. >> i think obama care was put into place to bring down the cost curve on health care, and that's not what's happening. insurance premiums are going up. the cost of health care is going up. we're going to add about 10 million more people to our health care rolls. >> let's fix the bill and make it right and not repeal it and

the ma thaul gee that you can preserve all ltd good parts. >> the two are vying for the seat now held by joe lieberman, an independent who is retiring. israel is trying to determine the origin of the drone it shot down after it crossed into israeli territory over the weekend. nobody was injured in the incident. the unmanned plane was not carrying any exsphroes eufrs and it was not a surveillance drone. israelie officials don't believe it originated from a certain territory. the immediate suspect is hezbollah according to one theory published. >> and people need to not forget, the world stage is a very volatile place right now and the idea that there could be an attack, israel going against

iran for the nuclear facilities, and all the pieces of the puzzle that comes out we need to pay attention to that, because it could be crescendoing into a dangerous event on the global scale. >> and the presidential debate will be focused on the foreign policy. we will turn to the growing health threat for meningitis. 27 new cases just in the passed two days, bringing the number of cases. seven people died so far. jeffrey russell so far is praying for his mother to pull through. >> everything is going through the same thing. it's just hard to see your mother. >> the pharmacy at the center of the outbreak announced a voluntary recall of every product it makes. well, it may still be

october by people -- well, it may still be october but people in minnesota are already hitting the slopes. try that one again. the wild mountain ski area is the first to open for the season. a foot of snow dropped in parts, and temperatures plunged making conditions perfect. >> reporter: what did you do last weekend? >> water skiing. >> reporter: this weekend you are? >> snowboarding. >> reporter: is that nuts in a week you can do that? >> pretty crazy. >> reporter: in the same state and same area? >> yeah. >> reporter: you did not have to travel to do this? >> nope. >> that's cool, and the water slides were still running at the resort two weeks ago. that's the beauty of minnesota. ever been there? >> i have not. >> it's beautiful. >> i am not a fan of frozen weather. for those of you that like

skiing in the frozen snow, good luck to you. >> here is your monday forecast. frost and freeze advisories. chilly with evening showers in new york city. showers and thunderstorms from d.c. and the carolinas down through much of florida. >> 88 in miami. that's what i am talking about. mostly 50s in the northeast and midwest, and 60s from texas up to the canadian border and 70s along the pacific coast. well, a little bear cub took a page straight out of "goldiloc "goldilocks," deciding a house in tucson was just right. >> a cub was making himself at home raiding the fridge and tipping the trash and finishing off an entire chocolate cake. good call, little cub. the family called for help and got the bear out safely. >> the guy had a shotgun in his hand, a big gun? >> luckily it doesn't come to

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♪ i think that's the official theme song for thursday, for those of you that can't wait for thursday night's vice presidential debate. there was something to ease their cravings over the weekend. >> that was the debate between cable tv heavyweights between bill o'reilly and jon stewart. we have the blow-by-blow. >> we are merely weeks from being a failed state, or even worse, greece, and the way to solve it is to kill big bird. >> reporter: it's the debate the ae selection season is clocking in the time. >> can i have one of the cards for this? >> fox news anchor bill o'reilly --

>> audio adios. >> he took on jon stewart in a 90-minute debate saturday night with topics ranging from funding cbs. >> give me the money back, the children's television is -- >> to taxes. >> why if you take advantage of a tax break and you are a corporation, you are a smart businessman but if you take advantage of something that you need not to be hungry, you are a moocher? >> even foreign policy? >> it appears the foreign policy is to go into the middle east and buy friends. does that work? >> yeah, we can buy friends. >> i think it works. >> there are moments you will likely never see in the presidential debates. >> you just begrudged -- >> no. >> this is nothing but begrudging! >> one major snafu of the night,

some viewers had difficulty streaming the debate live. there was so much demand it overloaded the servers. >> this whole idea is insanity. >> prompting tweets like this, your site is more broken than america. >> the rumble 2012 will be soon followed by the refund 2012. >> hopefully they were able to raise a little money because half the proceeds went to charity. >> this is great. but some of the reviews have not been kind. reuters said the night consisted of less than thought provoking partisans that arrived well marinated, and if they deviated from the respective parties, i missed it. always good to see those guys have huge platforms come together like that, and they had fun with it. >> exactly. >> i don't think anybody was looking for it for a lot of political insight but a lot of parody and fun insight involved.

>> it was probably a nice distraction in light of what is going on in the real world. when we come back, we will see what is coming up. >> we'll be right back, everybody. action i love telling big stories about big heroes. but, at the end of t dayal, real life is betterhan any story. our service men and women are the real heroes. every day they make the crifices for their country; for my country; for my son's country. the uso gives us real ways to support our real heroes. there is a waye can say thanks. you can go to uso.org and make a readiffererence in their lives today. do it.

welcome back, everybody.

we have a new stadium here in new york out in brooklyn, which is the city's most high-tech stadium, and all week more than 18,000 people -- jay-z has been holding court in there, putting on a concert. but he did something very unexpected. he took the subway to the show. you can imagine he rolls into the canal street station, and of course there were cops around and his own security team, and the fans went nuts, and he chatted up an older woman on the subway who was happy to see him there, and he gets to the center to do the big show, and of course through the show, beyonce, his gorgeous and equally successful wife comes out and they do their hugely successful 2003 duet "crazy in love," and he kept it real and went on the subway to go to the show. nice touch. a little humanity and humility.

it was cool. >> and then ben affleck was taking his kids to mcdonald's, and he took the mirror off the parked car, so he wrote a note and said, "hi, knocked off your mirror, very sorry, and we'll cover everything," and he signed it and left his number. >> i wonder if he left the number to his lawyer or publicist? >> i would assume he left the number to his lawyer. >> that's the difference when ben affleck leaves a note, contact my publicist and we'll take care of everything. and drum roll, this year it's hard to argue with this choice, mila kunis -- >> ashton's new girl. >> that's right. beautiful girl. 29 years old. there she is on the cover, and topless with the skin tight

jeans on, and lounging around on the left which is wonderful. a big star on "the '70s show," and "forgetting sarah marshal," and then she's this year sexiest woman alive. excellent choice, i must say to the editors. hard to argue with that. particularly after the "black swan." >> and i read somewhere she likes to eat, so my kind of gal. >> absolutely. and we show christine aguilera, scantily clad. >> shocking. >> yes. she just posted this photo for her new album coming out november 13th. you can see right there, her blond locks are draping over her chest and it appears she is emerging out of a lotus flower, which is the name of the album. >> thank you for showing us, again. and speaking of showing us, snooki tweeted a picture of

herself without makeup, and so in case you are wondering what she looks like without the tanning and all the makeup, and maybe motherhood is maturing old snooki! .

♪ you are probably wiping your eyes and saying, did i just see skinny? this is your bonus round. >> bonus. >> your bonus round of skinny. >> holiday mondays mean more skinny. we have more crap to bring you. >> yeah, so crap part ii, big bird land on "snl" over the weekend. you heard the comment that republican nominee, mitt romney, said about big bird and pbs, he would get rid of that funding. seth meyers trying to pull information from big bird, but he said he didn't want to ruffle any tpet kwrurdz and he said he received a million tweets, but not of the twitter version, and he said i am a bird, tweet

something how we talk. one funny moment, and he said who likes debates, and he said de-fishes. >> nice. you know "snl" was going to have fun with big bird and they were giving the president some heat for what had to be a lack luster performance last week. they had to have fun. and listen to how they portrayed the debate. >> number two -- >> the anniversary gift. i can't believe i forgot the anniversary gift. this is bad. this is very bad. okay. i was distracted by the mess i inherited from bush, but still i should have remembered our anniversary. >> apparently the other guy who

plays romney has perfected romneyy's creepy debate stare, so both sides had fun. rosie o'donnel is a big fan of honey boo boo and wants to buy her a house. and of course honey boo boo's family, the mom says she doesn't want fame to change the family and she doesn't want the house, and they sid we don't want a house. interestingly enough rosy says not only does she love them, but she thinks honey boo boo has a lot in common with shirley temple. how about that? she has an eye for talent. >> you know what? god bless. also good news from inside the abc familyand we want to extend a congratulations to our weather anchor, sam champion. he announced his engagement to his long-time boyfriend, and they could get married by the end of the year. so congrats, sam, enjoy it. of the year. so congrats, sam, enjoy it.

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